Whether it’s a pounding headache, an upset stomach, or a day that would have been better spent staying at home, students know that the health suite is a place they can get the ultimate care. The health suite is a place for students to debrief and recover from whatever they might be dealing with mentally or physically.

If a student is not feeling well and wants to go to the health suite they need a pass from the 5-star app or their teacher, unless there is a medical emergency, then the nurses will go to that student. To get sent home students would have to have a fever of 100.4 or greater and have symptoms like throwing up or nausea. Being sent home is not mandatory, it is only a recommendation that you do.

Co-Chair of the Nursing Department, Ms. Laura Yaron gave a deeper insight on the role of the health suite not just during the school day, but for any events where they are needed.

“We cover all the dances, they need a nurse at any of the different events. We send a nurse to the Disney trip for the senior class trip. We have nurses at whatever events that they might be having in the school that they think they want a medical professional there to take care of the kids, and the nurses will cover those after school activities, Yaron said.  “Not all after school activities only if they request to have a nurse there. So if they don’t request to have a nurse, then a nurse won’t necessarily be there. And then it also is dependent, if you have a student that has a medical condition, let’s say that you’ve got a serious medical condition that needs closer monitoring from a medical professional, then they would request to have a nurse at that event.”

“I remember, we would go to certain play practices or to the play because maybe someone in the play had a diabetic condition. The family wanted a nurse at the event and then a nurse would be at the event” Yaron explained.

Yaron has been at North Penn since 2004 and her role goes outside of nursing too as she is in charge of the schedules for all the nurses in the district.

“We have about 50 nurses that work for the school district. I do all the coverage for all the nurses. So if they call out, I’m responsible for making sure that we have a sub to cover for them. We have a number of students within the district like high school, middle school and elementary school that have medical needs and require a nurse on the bus. If something happens and one of the bus nurses isn’t in, then I might be riding on a bus some of the days with students in the morning that have medical needs” Yaron explained.

Even though there are nurses with lots of experience in the health suite at North Penn there are some that are just starting out like Ms. Rachel Coykendall. Working at a big school such as North Penn, especially in the health department can be a challenge, but Coykendall has adapted so far by taking it one day at a time. She has enjoyed her time working here so far because she enjoys working with the older population of students here at the high school.

The health suite is such a vital part at school and should be very much appreciated as they help so many students get the help they need. Whether it’s at school or at a school event the health suite’s nurses do so much for the students to make sure they can get through another day.